Tag Archives: Kroger

…location, location,location!

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English: This photograph is of the town square...
English: This photograph is of the town square in Lawrenceburg, TN with a statue of David Crockett in the center. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At first glance one may presume this post is about real estate…and one would be correct, sorta! I have recently sold a house…a frustrating and futile episode of “…what ya give me for it?” and really, I know I made it harder on myself than it had to be. BUT….the heart wants what the heart wants….and with that being said, I have no excuses or apologies left in me…..It had to be over with, it was hard for me to breathe…enough said. (Feels like a mystery, huh? Not really just a epic “Lucy and Ethel” moment in time…. without the funny parts!) So to further explain my location jabber….we moved! Can I get an AMEN! AMEN,  AMEN!!

Not to look back on the last seven years with regret, I knew the Lord sent us back to Middle TN,  it was fun and we made many awesome friends who I hope will be friends forever. God always knows what is best for us and I am confident that HE knew what we needed and as usual he did and does. The time spent back from wince I came was very special to me, personally. I was able to go home again…it had changed…but so did I! I did many things that restored my fond memories; I went back to see our old home place in Readyville, my beloved farm, it had changed also, re-connected with my extended family, I have great Aunts and Uncles and my cousins whom I spent many a lazy days with growing up, barefoot and free, I love them all, went to a few of their funerals which was painful.. but glad I was there to honor them, visited with an old friend, one of the first girls I met when we moved to “town” from the farm, Judy Dawes (I thought her Mom was mean and she thought my two sisters were mean) was and will always be the girl who makes me laugh, she is a jewel of a friend and we ruled and reigned the Mitchell-Nielson neighborhood for many years (or so we thought), I felt the inspiration to start this blog, preacherswifeintheknow,  which ended up in my hometown newspaper, The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro, Tn and I was honored……..one of my friends Parents had seen me and sent word they were proud of me…totally worth it!

The most precious times were spent with my Mom, I moved back here just at the beginning of her Alzheimers onset. The two years before I moved I had visited more than I ever had, I was needing to be close to her…to talk to my momma, get advice. Being a grown up is big and scary sometimes and going home to see your Momma is the only fix…and I did and I am forever thankful because I had that time, sweet time to say it all, ask it all, get healed from growing up. I don’t mean any disrespect…she did great, good Mom but circumstances were not always choice as in every family and it was good to talk it out…and looking back one of the greatest blessings the Lord has ever given me, time with her alone before she left us. She is still here, but she has left us…..in a Benjamin Button sort of backwardness, like she never was married or had five kids, just a young girl still at home with her parents…but now not even that…just words not making sense and still that big pretty smile. She is a beautiful woman.

I also reconnected with my two sisters, I needed that……we needed each other…funny how we fit back into our birth order even when you are older….makes life less complicated that way I think, I see that in my own brood and I am happy to watch it play out….It is orderly and yet frightening then  sometimes we see how one kid may jump in to take the lead even though they are the “down the line kid” which reminds me that we all have certain God given gifts and talents that are there waiting to be made use of….pretty cool.

LOCATION? Its all in your perspective…I do have a new physical location and I love it here, Lawrenceburg, TN, a “island” of sorts almost in Alabama…..yikes! pretty close for us UT VOLS! Small towns make me better…who would have thunk it! I still would love the opportunity to be in New York City, NY some day but for now I am very settled. I am not that far away from home, and my family, for a visit and the quaint kind of community here is what I missed. When I was a kid “going to town” meant something. I find it so much more fun to go to town and not live in town….where ya got to go to?…what is there to look forward to?…I had enough of Nashville traffic to do me for my lifetime. So here I am in my sweet (one story, thank the Lord!) house, in this cute small town (it at least has a Kroger! For which I didn’t have a job when I got here!…grrr…thats another story!) with our sweet church family who appears to adore their new Pastor and ME?(we could not be more blessed) and on the upside here…fresh home grown vegetables(yes, I am that carnal, I can be bought with fresh vegetables!) and there are many more benefits of location and the most important one is that we are where God put us. And to that I say thanks Lord and AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!!

Workin’ stiffs

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Whew…..! I must begin this moment of reflection with a standing round of applause to all you “workin people” that have run this world all these years, I mean it is amazing to have the foresight and now hindsight into the life of worker bees like YOU! With that said…..I must say, again….WHEW!

 

English: Wendy's Logo Français : Le logo de We...
English: Wendy’s Logo Français : Le logo de Wendy’s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I started working at seventeen, first job was WENDY’S, the eagerness in me balanced out the constant smell of pickles on my hands! I learned great life lessons during my tenure creating the perfect burger stack as in…mayo, ketchup, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, and mustard under the meat on the bottom bun…in that order. Then there was the lovely motto: If there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean! Ugh, it’s like the “it’s a small small world song!” That will always be trapped in my head!

 

Kroger logo
Kroger logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then my nearly two years at Kroger, a courtesy clerk professional thank you very much, at your service. That was back when we actually took the groceries to t h e cars for customers…..rain or shine. It was really fun !!..she says smiling. This would be a foreshadowing, details to follow. After that there were various and sundry waitress jobs, they  call them servers these days, less domestic sounding I guess.

 

I got married then My next big job was becoming a MOM. The days of slinging hash to paying customers was far behind me, I was looking at eighteen years to life of carrying groceries and slinging hash, ironically enough, but I didn’t have to work a “real job” on top of that. I was so blessed. Then after eighteen years, I  went back to a job, the day my first baby started University of Tennessee (GO VOLS!) And my last baby started kindergarten……I shed a few tears that day!

 

But, I was still young, sorta, so I survived it, tired but could juggle it all. So I worked for about seven-ish years then we moved back to middle Tennessee where I found a job which lasted ten months….So for three years I have pretty much got lazy….lazier! Whew! Finding a job had gotten much harder these days and Getting older is not easy! I believe there is a correlation between the two…hmmmm?

 

To my great joy I now am back to work…..but I gotta say, this old girl has had to get her stamina built up again. The saying “use it or lose it” is so true! This job has been a long time coming. I worked for this company way back in college, thirty ish years ago….hence the previous foreshadowing! Kroger #564, thanks! By the way …the lingo there is calling all the stores by number not street names, ugh, I hate being a newbie, so out of the loop! But thankfully I am  not hauling out groceries any more….I get a desk job! And I love it!  I am involved with the employees, taking care of the HR duties plus more. It is never boring and I am always busy which I like, bored at work it the worst. I now am a working stiff with the rest of y’all.

 

This brings me to my question…how have you done this all these years?? Whew…..this is hard!! I realize how fortunate I was to not work when my babies were small, besides the day care issues and cost, the sheer physical demands on the body are huge. I work a nine hour day and some days overtime, it is all I can do to drive home. My husband makes dinner( bless his heart, he has had to evolve so much, but I sure am proud of him)  and I know if left to me we would starve. I feel in time I will get my sea legs and be less tired, the learning curve is big but getting easier after two weeks.

I just have to say, it is not hard to go to work happy, be happy at work, I know what a blessing it is to have a good job, I am thankful and humbled for the opportunity, I will never be forgetful of the days of waiting and denial. It’s hard on the mean streets. I know this will help me when I hire the team for the store. Our customers deserve the best and I am the first person these eager  newbies meet. I just hope they can see my desire to get them started on the right track and enjoy working there. Highly satisfied customers is our goal and I believe if we have highly satisfied employees our goal will be accomplished. This working girl is ready for the new chapter……working 9 to 5, la la la…..I mean 7 to 4:30+!

I just want to applaud all the men and women who have made it possible to live in a world that keeps turning on the blood sweat and tears of all y’all worker bees. I am glad I can help now, and soon I hope I will be less tired…age is not my friend now. My heart goes out to all the moms who paid the price as well as the dad’s. You all ROCK!

 

Delicious SUN

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SUN! SUN! SUN! Delicious SUN! I am a sun lover….not a sunbather…(ewe!)…but a lover …of the sunlight. Sunlight is a good thing and in the depths of Winter, it is the best thing.

 

Kroger logo Kroger logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

The other day while at my local Kroger store, I walked near the “day old” flowers, the ones they put on the table that are starting to look sad. As I stood there, sniffing, I smelled a strong Hyacinth aroma for which I LOVE!! Searching all over, I looked up and there stood a woman pondering. I smiled and she smiled and instantly started talking to me.

 

This is not a strange thing to me….I am enough of a social butterfly...translation: I can start-up a conversation with a wall! …which I am sure is a mystery to most my family. On the bright side, I can make friends easy! I spent many young years playing make-believe all alone. Anyways, this lady began to explain that the flower department clerk told her she would put together any of the “sad” flowers into a bouquet if wanted. Re-make them ….pretty. My question is: How can I make that work for ME!

 

Oh for it to be so easy!….wouldn’t it be cool if were! That is why I like the sun so much. The sun shines HOPE on any situation. When the sun shines the world becomes bright and shiny and if there is not so shiny areas, it is easier to see the spots to wipe down….dust…or in most of my cases…dig out !!!! At least the prospect of clean and clear is available.

 

The lady at Kroger’s continued to explain to me her need for fresh flowers in the darkness of winter to keep her from the gloominess of the dark weather. Her depression keeps at bay more when she surrounds herself with the beautiful-ness of flowers. I must agree with her. I have never thought it a waste to give or receive fresh flowers. That is on my “pseudo” bucket list, more like a large vat of hopes and dreams. The ability to buy fresh flowers every time I want to……good thing I do not live in New York yet. All those cute little flower vendors on the streets. It would ruin me.

 

I felt her pain that day, I too struggle with the coziness of winter. It seems I have become one of those women.…always COLD! Really it is not the rule, except when it is winter. That temperature dips down and my bones instinctively ache and I FREEZE. The flip side is I am the first one to “smother” in a stuffy room….get so hot I will melt….I really need a bit of air blowing thru …..it makes NO SENSE!!! But, I have finally decided that if I had to pick, I would choose warm weather over cold. These brittle bones under all these layers of…..let’s just say…skin! are way too sensitive. What an oxymoron!

 

So welcome back Mr. Sun…..I enjoy the ever present warmth of your rays…..even though you do point out the shabby non-chic-ness of my house….or more correctly my lack of cleaning! Always a trade off…but I will take it! Like is too short to fret the small stuff!

 

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